Reigning junior world scratch race champion Jennifer Valente (San Diego, Calif./Exergy TWENTY12) was the golden girl on Friday, picking up gold medals in the points race and sprint for 17-18 women, giving the 17-year-old a total of nine career Stars & Stripes jerseys.

Valente wasn’t challenged in the sprint semi-finals or finals, winning in straight rides against Abbey Smich (Sagamore Hills, OH/WAS Labs Cycling) in the semifinals and Chloe Chepigin (Chappaqua, NY/EPS/CSS) in the finals.

Home track girl Nadia Latzgo (Foglesville/Young Medalists/Team Rothrock) teamed with a pair of out-of-town riders, Addyson Albershardt (Matthews, N.C./Now and Novartis) and Alexis Ryan (Ventura, Calif./Team TIBCO II) for a 16 second victory in the women’s 3-kilometer team pursuit over the second place team, finishing in 3:55.279.

“I was looking around locally for the team pursuit because I want to go to junior worlds,” Latzgo said. “Nothing was coming together. I originally communicated with Addyson a little bit. She said she had Alex on board and they needed another person. Addy came in last week and we worked out on Saturday for the first time. As the week went on Alex came in and we continued to train.”
Latzgo put on a solo attack and won the final four sprints of the women’s 17-18 16-kilometer points race, but couldn’t gain the lap she needed to outpoint Valente when Bailey Semian (Mertztown, PA/Team TIBCO II), Sarah Huang (Kenosha, WI/Exergy TWENTY12) and Ryan crashed on the back straight close to turn 3 during the second-to-last sprint.

Jennifer Valente grabbed two gold medals on Thursday in the womens 17-18 sprint and points race.

“At first, I didn’t jump with her because I was pretty tired,” Valente said of Latzgo’s well-timed attack. Then she got a half lap and at one point was on the same straight as us. I got nervous. After the crash, I think the momentum changed. Crashes are unfortunate and never a good thing, but at the same time, it’s a race. It’s nationals. We spread out with less people and everyone was willing to work.”

In the men’s 17-18 sprint, Conor Klupar (Fall City, WA/Revel Consulting/Rad Racing) needed three sprints in the finals to edge kilometer champion Kaleb Koch (Glenview, IL/ISCorp Cycling). Klupar won the second, Koch the second after a re-ride was ordered halfway through that heat for excessive bumping. Klupar won the final sprint, refusing to be overtaken on the final lap.

“This is my first national title,” said Klupar, who had never before reached the podium at junior nationals. “I think I had a sixth once. I think confidence is the biggest difference right now. I was a little bit frustrated going into that third ride. I just wanted to keep it fast [on the last lap] so he couldn’t come around. We were about equal in speed.”

Slipstream Black won the gold medal in the men’s 4-kilometer team pursuit.

“We were the sixth to go and our B team had the time that was leading. The fact that we went into it with our B team leading is a good thing. We’re all [racing age] 17. That was by far the fastest time we’ve ever done, and by far the smoothest.”

Cesar Lopez (El Paso, TX/Stage 17 Racing) wasn’t even planning to be in the men’s 15-16 24-kilometer points race because he was more focused on a UCI race in Canada this weekend.

“I’ve never won a national title before,” he said excitedly. “The closest I ever came was third place. I wasn’t even going to race. My dad was like, ‘it’s the first race, just go out and race it … I kept hearing my name [from the announcer] second, second and I thought this was my only chance to be a national champion.”

Kirsten Williams (Lonetree, CO/Natural Grocers) was equally thrilled with her win. She came from over the top on best friend Laurel Rathbun (Monument, CO/JetCycling) to win the women’s 15-16 –kilometer scratch race to reverse the results from Thursday night’s sprint.

“We were all kind of together until the last lap,” Williams said. “One girl got a couple of bike lengths and then Laurel went and so did I, and then we came out of the final turn and I saw the finish line and I went as hard as I could. It feels really good,” she said of her first gold medal at juniors track nationals after winning the 13-14 time trial in 2010. “I really wanted this.”

Zeke Mostov (San Francisco, CA/Slipstream-Craddock) put on a display of tactical brilliance in nipping Matt Valencia (Los Altos, CA/Specialized) at the finish line of the men’s 15-16 8-kilometer points race.

Mostov earned his first gold medal in track cycling after he took off on a flyer late in the race and Valencia joined him. The pair had half a lap on the field with seven to go and took turns with half lap pulls. Mostov did the majority of the work initially to make the breakaway stick, and then forced Valencia to do more of the work over the final three laps.

Valencia fed off the challenge and tried to lead out the entire last lap, but Mostov was able to pass him at the line in a tight finish.

Grant McElroy (Portland, OR/Beaverton Bicycle Club) earned the 10th gold medal of his junior career, this time winning the 4-kilometer scratch race for the 13-14 junior men by emerging from a field sprint in the final lap.

“I wanted to stay up high so that I could dive down [the banking],” he said of his strategy. “I saw a bunch of guys up top and I knew I had to stay there with them to make the move.”

Allyson Wasielewski (Orefield, PA/Team Alliance Environmental) finally got her chance to race on Friday night and made the most of it. The local rider got disqualified in Thursday’s 500-meter time trial for the 13-14 women, but the 12-year-old (racing age 13 because she turns 13 this year) attacked Friday’s 4-kilometer scratch race with a singular mission.

“I was very focused and just looking forward and blocking everything else out,” she said. “Everybody started sprinting [on the final lap] and I went over the top of the pack and I had a little gap.”

She used that gap to earn her first gold medal as a junior while getting her name into the omnium standings.

Kiley Krasley (Coplay, PA/Chester County Cycling) earned her first career gold medal by winning the women’s 10-12 1-kilometer scratch race.

“It was easy,” she said after leading out the entire race. “I just had to keep it going.”

Weston Geim (Valencia, CA/Major Motion) picked up his second gold medal in as many days by winning the 3-kilometer scratch race to retain the lead for the men’s 10-12 omnium.

“I felt a lot of pressure [after winning the 500-meter time trial on Thursday],” Geim said. “I just wanted to be at the front, position myself right and be on the right wheel.

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